Greg and Damian Parr with the 6.15kg feral cat that took out top prize. The Parrs are always prominent in this event.
THE native species on Cape York were the biggest winners from the annual Western Cape Feral Animal Control event in Weipa.
Hundreds of feral species were removed by hunters of all ages.
In total, 256 pigs were removed from the wild, which is 80 more than last year, despite fewer teams.
The biggest to weigh in was a 90.05kg boar from team Swine Time, most likely from a “secret spot”.
The biggest sow was a 76.05kg whopper from the Whippet Good team.
Ian and James Milne from team Ridgeback Twangers N Bangers got more pigs than any other team with a trailer load of 35.
The biggest tusks were 106mm, brought in by the Dean Team.
The most recent additions to the event that was formerly known as the Weipa Pig Hunt, the feral cat and cane toad categories, once again proved popular.
Twenty-four feral cats were killed, with 11 taken down by the Kelpie Crew team from Piccaninny Plains.
Youngster William Stock, who just moved to the nature reserve from Cooktown, was thrilled to get so many.
However, most were small compared to the 6.15kg cat that was shot by Damian Parr, who took the prize after teaming up with his father Greg.
A massive 231kg of cane toads were brought to the weigh-in station at the Albatross Bay Resort car park, caught by keen boys and girls eager to do their bit for the environment.
Team 3 Bad Toads captured more than 55kg between them!
Levi Jenkins with the sugar glider he rescued from a cat.
The Murphy Rehn Memorial best and fairest prize went to Levi Jenkins and his team Chasing Bail.
They shot a feral cat and, when retrieving it, found an injured sugar glider in its mouth.
They brought it back to town and 13-year-old Levi was able to give it to Lauren from Ecotone, who took it into her care.
Because some teams had three people and some had two, there were some leftover prizes at the end of presentations.
Greg and Sally Parr put in a generous bid of $2100 for the lot, with the funds going to the Weipa Men’s Shed. The committee then matched the bid dollar-for-dollar.
Punters then kicked on to the tunes of Jayson Watkins and his band until the late hours.
WESTERN CAPE FERAL ANIMAL CONTROL 2023 GALLERY
